The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-10-29
GENERAL CONVENTION.
rooNTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

Have we neglected to say grace at table?
Have we neglected other opportunities to i'm
press religious life upon the child2
have discovered this in my own Sunday
school, the failure to impress with any sort of
JUNCTION moral fact, and much greater in
frequency in impressing any devotional fact.
1t is obvious that large part of our Sunday
school scholars are fed upon dry husks of
geography and history; they get the so-called
Interpretation of the thought, but to say to
John. and Mary, if lying is wrong, DO you
lie?' Are you careful to tell the truth to your
playmates? Are you scrupulous in obeying
your father and mother?
Young people come together in the Church
obviously to have good time. know of but
one solitary young peoples prayer meeting
in the Universalist Church. hope there are
more. Young people do not come to old
peoples prayer meetings either. and they are
largely missed from the service. Have we
shrank from impressing upon these young
people the Importance of conservation to the
life of a Christian. Is there difficulty in do
ing this kind of work with young people?
What shall we say to get them aroused? What
is a deep-reaching faith unless it be that the
nature of man is religious? What is deep
reaching faith unless 1t be that God has COM
mitted to His people a nature which can no
help expanding into a broad and high relig-
ious feeling when properly treated? There
is a religious nature in these young people if
we can bring it out. Universalist young
people are like any other young people; they
are as capable as other young people, and as
ready to respond to any genuine demand to
live Christian life as any other young
people. If young people are not what they
ought to be, we must make them SO;
we must get them established upon re-
ligious basis. This is the business of the
Church. If it is not the business of the
church, do not know what is. To get these
young people and old people, too, to be
religious, not fair outward show of relig
ion, but genuinely in love with their H avenly
Father, is what / believe the Church is for.
We must get at the young people and convert
them. think it can be done.
pass to the third point have here. Sup
posing it to be true that there are urgent
reasons why these young people should take
on the form and principles of genuine re-
lgious movement, it may sill be asked why
not let every pastor do what he sees to be
best in his own parish. There is to my judg-
ment something invidious in that question.
Here we have got our Board of Directors from
their vantage ground, where they can see the
whole field, to make new proposition to the
Church to do some particular thing, and we
catch just enough of the spirit to go right
about doing something else. There are good
reasons why it would be better for us to have
some uniformity in this matter, a National
organization and uniform plan of work.
There are three good reasons for this. In the
first place, mutual counsel Mutual counsel
and conference between different Young Peo-
pies Missionary Associations and suggestions
and plans of work. Mutual excitement and
the gain of genuine and wholesome rivalry
between different branches of the Associa-
ton. Still more important and greater &C.
quaintance among the young people. Keep
in mind that the young people are to be the
old people presently. They are to stand in the
places where you stand. They are to occupy
our position. If they can come up to take
the responsibility of the church on their
shoulders with an interest and knowledge in
the work and considerable information and
confidence in each other, this mutual acquaint-
ance will do a good deal toward the stability
of the Church in the future. IT there are to
be mutual counsel and mutual excitement,
there must be a means of communication
1t seems to me that there ought to be a
medium of communication established,
paper or magazine. Perhaps at first it may
only be possible to open two or three columns
of our papers to them. but there ought to be
some channel of communication through
which we can know what the mission at Chi
cago, or Roxbury, or at Shawmut Church, are
doing. 1t would be great advantage to me,
/ should get new ideas; it is possible we might
suggest some new ideas to the rest. Such a
paper as that would provide the best vehicle
for that kind of communication.
want great emphasis given to the fact of
the object being to get the young people to be
tributary to the genuine work of the Church,
and to teach them to lift their eyes beyond
localisms to the broad sweep of Universalism
as it marches to conquer worlds. Here is an
opportunity to develop social advantage; here
is an opportunity for literary work, if only
that is made subservient to the religious
work.
The idea is to do certain things for our
young people. In the first place to make them
religious. to teach them loyalty and love for
the Church; to train them in definite habits
of work.
In conclusion, I have two suggestions to
offer. We want to get our young people, as
well as our old people, more genuinely inter-
ested in a practical and faithful piety. To
get them religious. What is the way to do 1t?
This is a way. To get the young people to do
ing something in religious way. More than
all the sermons that can be preached from
the pulpit is the benefit of actual work to the
young; it will lift them out of narrow ruts;
it will lead them to view the world as it stands.
To relieve distress and trouble, to see the
needs of the world and to do their part toward
remedying them, will be to put the desire to
carry on the good work into the heart of every
noble man here.
1t is this effect, in my judgment, more than
all others for which we should have Young
Peoples Associations. In all churches, it
would do more to solve the most vexing and
pressing problem, namely the supply of min
listers. If you can get these young people to
actually be ministers, without taking the
name, to take bread to the hungry and cloth
ing to the naked, you have done much, and
they would soon be willing to take upon them
selves both the name and duty of ministers.
Let the young people do actual missionary
work. Employ a missionary if possible, let
him go to Japan or Chicago, but a missionary
to do actual missionary work TO be paid by
these young people here, let them go into
their own pockets. From time to time
they would get reports from the far or
near land of the progress of the work.
The missionary shows the difficulties, he an
nounees the obstacles to be overcome; the
young people feel it, as they would not feel II
were it not their own work. From time to
time he visits them, bringing his knowledge
IN these vOun0 DeoDle l do not think that If